She also suggests lifetime benefits because they don't cost that much more than four- or five-year policies, she says. "The statistic is the average stay in a nursing home is two-and-a-half years, but that doesn't count all the home-health care that went on before. If a client enters a nursing home and stays more than six months," Hobbs says, "the chances are they'll be there over five years."
But she and other advisors agree most people can't afford policies that will cover all the costs of long-term care should they happen to need it, and they should be prepared to pay part of the expense. "You start looking at co-insuring," says Moran. "In 12 years I've only seen one person buy a Cadillac plan. We came in with three recommendations, and she said they weren't enough. She reminded me her mother was 94 and in long-term care for the last six years, and had seen her Caterpillar stock eaten up. But more often than not, you look at how much someone is willing to co-insure."